How I Met Your Mother

The gang decides to attend a black-tie fundraiser event at the Natural History Museum, where Ted happens to run into Zoey and then manages to get a glimpse of a completely different side of her that he has never seen before.

Past Events

Did "How I Met Your Mother" stay too long at the party? The complete series hits DVD today and you can watch the series grow, transform, and evolve (or maybe devolve) over the course of its long run. Just how did Ted meet his children's mother and what sorts of shenanigans did he and his group of friends get up to along the way? Watch and find out.

And with this moment, "How I Met Your Mother" ends its nine season run. We aren't going to tell you that every episode that they've ever put out has been fantastic and worth watching, but we are going to tell you this -- if you ever loved "How I Met Your Mother," if you ever thought if funny or clever or heartwarming, tune in tonight as the curtain comes down one last time. We just want one thing -- an unequivocally happy ending. If nothing else, "HIMYM" is a love story and we don't want it to be the bittersweet sort. But, maybe that's just us.

Okay, so the final season (few seasons) of "HIMYM" have been slightly uneven. You can't give up on it now though, can you? No. No you can't. Come the end of March, "How I Met Your Mother" will disappear, forever, relegated to pre- and post-primetime syndication airings and while there is absolutely nothing wrong with that, you can't give up on the show now, with so few new episodes left. Think of the children... and how he met their mother.

Are we inching ever closer to the impending wedding between Barney and Robin? Maybe. It doesn't always feel that way but, presumably, we will eventually get there. We suspect that the moment won't arrive tonight, but that a few hours of the wedding weekend will be shaved off. More importantly though, the series returns with new episodes tonight. This will be the last time we can tell you that this is the first episode of the new year for "HIMYM," because, as you well know, this is the last year for "HIMYM."

During a television series' final season, there are a whole lot of moments to mark. Tonight, we get episode 13 of the final season, meaning that we're going to be starting the second half of the final season of "HIMYM." We are also going to be getting the last new episode of 2013. That makes it a sad time, but, maybe, a moment of relief as well. We have powered through the first half of season nine, lackluster as it may have been, and it may be all downhill from here. The Mother is in play, the wedding is, maybe, approaching, and there isn't a whole lot of time left to make us laugh.

Bryan Cranston is coming back tonight as Ted's former boss, Hammond Druthers. We don't know if Druthers is going to be at the Farhampton Inn or if he's going to appear in a flashback or a flashforward, but we're not sure that matters. Okay, it totally matters in terms of potential quality for the episode, but we aren't here to discuss such things, merely to tell you that Cranston is back tonight and we don't quite know in what capacity his character returns.

Apparently, and you may find this shocking, Ted has brought a date to the wedding. That will make his meeting of the mother slightly more difficult (won't it?), but we surmise that the scene we saw like a billion years ago at the train station will still take place. In any case, Ted's date is being played by Anna Camp tonight (Sherri Shepherd is returning too). We can't speak to whether or not the mother will actually appear tonight, but don't worry, Ted has a date for the wedding.

Tonight's episode in the final season of "How I Met Your Mother" is called "The Poker Game." It will therefore, we surmise, involve a poker game, perhaps the continuation of the poker game we saw last week, perhaps an entirely different poker game. We do know that it will contain more wedding weekend shenanigans and that Barney's mom is going to be showing for the festivities (which makes sense because she's Barney's mom and he's getting married). Also back tonight are Sherri Shepherd and Wayne Brady.

In the uproarious Eighth Season of How I Met Your Mother, the arrival of baby Marvin reminds Marshall and Lily of things they need, like sleep, better jobs and sex! Meanwhile Barney uses his playbook to win over Robin, but not her scary dad. Marshall tries to right a wrong in court in hopes of becoming a judge, and Robin's past is judged. Ted designs an amazing building, and also has designs on Barney's half-sister! But does he meet his future wife? Check out all 23 hilarious, legend - wait for it - dary 23 Season 8 episodes, featuring guest stars like Paul Shaffer, Ralph Macchio and Kyle MacLachlan!

Tonight's episode (at least as of our writing and we are going under the assumption that such things will not be changed at the last minute) is called "Last Time in New York." We wonder if that could possibly be true for any of the characters in the series. What would the rest of the season look like if Barney or Robin or Ted or Marshall or Lily or the mom doesn't spend another moment in the city? But, ignoring that, we're happy to tell you that Wayne Brady is going to be back again tonight.

This is it, the start of the final season of "How I Met Your Mother." Now, at the end of last season, as we recall, no, nevermind, we're not going to say what happened. See, we can't say because if we did you might just yell "spoilers" at us and even if we disagree, we wouldn't want to get into the discussion. So, instead, here's what we're going to tell you -- this is the final season, the end of the story. "HIMYM" is going to conclude in May and as of this moment, no one is suggesting a spinoff (although, now that we say it, how about a Ted & wife story told to the kids?).

Will Barney and Robin be getting married tonight? Should Barney and Robin be getting married tonight? Is it good for them? Is it good for the show? We really don't know the answers to these questions. What we can say for certain is that their getting married tonight is bad for us because no matter how shrill Robin has gotten, we are still deeply, deeply in love with her. There is something special about that Canadian. As for Ted and whether or not he will meet the mother tonight (because we seem to recall that he is supposed to at the end of the wedding day)... come on, we're not even going to speculate.

Next year, with the ninth season, "How I Met Your Mother" will end its run. We will, allegedly, meet the mother. Ted, we speculate, will find himself generally happy though not without issues. And, we keep our fingers crossed, the series will go out on a high note. We can't say, however, that everything has been rosy in season eight. Not only has Ted had some serious issues, but not every episode has been funny. Perhaps, the turnaround will begin tonight. Tune in and see if things head in the right direction today.

It is the February sweep, that magic and potentially outdated period where anything is possible, including the return of Kyle MacLachlan. Well, anything is possible except for Ted actually meeting the mother -- can we all just admit at this point that the odds that Ted is going to meet the mother are exceptionally small without the episode being referred to as the 'series finale?' Oh sure, Ted might meet her before then and it's really the main reason we watch at this point (that and to remember the good times that we had back in the day), but we don't see the big event occurring without the episode being the last new one ever. Kyle MacLachlan will, however, be back.

Ted's new girlfriend (and we're going with Dahmer) is back tonight. Okay, she may not be the mother, but he'll be seeing someone and said someone will be played by Abby Elliot. Now, we wouldn't mind if Abby Elliot was the mother, she is terribly funny after all, but we don't see that happening (surely there would be a bigger lead-up if she was the mother). Plus, you know, Marshall & Lily are fun with their adjusting to parenthood... and we kind of have a thing for Robin, even if she did invent grunge in Canada.

Ray Wise returns tonight as Robin, Sr. tonight on "How I Met Your Mother." Apparently now that 'The Robin' or whatever it was called worked, Robin wants Barney to talk to her pop about the nuptials. We are going to stay out of the whole 'creepy or endearing' discussion, but don't think that means that we haven't considered it and formulated or own opinion. Instead, we're just going to say that any way to get Ray Wise back on the show is probably good. Wow, imagine his feelings at the upcoming wedding. The dude is not going to be happy.

As we learned in the first "How I Met Your Mother" this season, the autumn of 2012 is the autumn of break-ups for the gang, and that is going to continue tonight (we fear) in an episode entitled 'The Autumn of Break-Ups.' As we learned a few weeks ago, things aren't going particularly well for Ted and Victoria or Robin and Samuel T. Anders (did you ever realize just how much Robin is like Starbuck?). Will one of those relationships end tonight, or will Marshall and Lily dump Marvin what with the cute little tike being something of a story killer. We won't say what we're hoping for, but we do think the show can fix this little problem.

With both a baby and a wedding on the way, change is in the air and awesomeness abounds in the hilariously unpredictable Season Seven of How I Met Your Mother. As Marshall and Lily move away to start their family, Ted continues the search for the woman of his dreams. Meanwhile, Robin reveals a shocking secret and special guest star Katie Holmes joins the fun in the long-awaited return of the Slutty Pumpkin! And, wedding bells are ringing at last for confirmed bachelor Barney, but why is he wearing that ridiculous ducky tie, and just who is the "lucky" lady?

We know, you watched the season premiere last week and while it wasn't quite everything you ever wanted from a television episode, you were thrilled that the show was back for another year of legendary awesomeness. Then, when the first episode of the season ended, you found yourself disheartened -- what if Barney and Ted and Marshall and Lily and Robin weren't back the next week for another new episode. What would you do then? Well, never fear, they are back for a new episode this week, so let the good times roll. Anything can happen this week, people, it's even possible that Ted will find the mother.

We called it. We knew it. We knew ever since that first wedding moment back in season whatever it was exactly whom would be getting married. We are so proud of ourselves. We are so happy with our knowledge. We are still contemplating exactly what it would take for us to get the chance to date Robin (seriously, we'd give just about anything). Now, for our next trick, we'll tell you exactly who the mother is. Ready? Okay, here we go... oh, shoot, we just ran out of space in this little paragraph. Tune in the the eighth season premiere of "How I Met Your Mother" and see if they're not a little more forthcoming than we are.

As their long awaited wedding day draws near, Marshall and Lily's visions for the perfect wedding are blurred by the numerous things that have gone wrong for the two of them, but Barney, the consummate bachelor, steps in to try and save the day.

As their long awaited wedding day draws near, Marshall and Lily's visions for the perfect wedding are blurred by the numerous things that have gone wrong for the two of them, but Barney, the consummate bachelor, steps in to try and save the day.

As their long awaited wedding day draws near, Marshall and Lily's visions for the perfect wedding are blurred by the numerous things that have gone wrong for the two of them, but Barney, the consummate bachelor, steps in to try and save the day.

The gang decides to attend a black-tie fundraiser event at the Natural History Museum, where Ted happens to run into Zoey and then manages to get a glimpse of a completely different side of her that he has never seen before.

Ted becomes conflicted about taking on his dream job of designing the new GNB headquarters after meeting a girl who's passionate about saving the landmark building that is being torn down to make room for the new headquarters.

Ted becomes conflicted about taking on his dream job of designing the new GNB headquarters after meeting a girl who's passionate about saving the landmark building that is being torn down to make room for the new headquarters.

Marshall gets the job offer of his dreams, but worries that the videos he made in the past will come back to haunt him during the company's background check; Ted can't decide who he wants to bring to the Architects Ball.

When Marshall gets mugged, Lily decides that she wants to get a gun for the sake of personal protection, so Marshall comes up with an elaborate, convoluted story about the mugging in order to make Lily feel safe and deter her from following through.

In March of 2011, "How I Met Your Mother" was renewed for not one, but two seasons. That means that heading into this season the writers knew that they had not one but two years more, at minimum, to tell their tale. Has that been a good thing for the show? Well, it's been good for us emotionally as we like the comfort of knowing the show is going to be around for a little while longer. Will we meet the umbrella girl tonight on the double-episode season finale (or, more importantly, will Ted?)? We doubt it, but we won't stop rooting for it to happen.

A lot has happened this year on "How I Met Your Mother." Okay, not a lot has happened with Ted and the finding of a mother, but a lot has happened with everyone else (literally, everyone else). Toinght brings back not just one guest star but three as Quinn, Sandy Rivers, and Ranjit will all be putting in appearances. Man, it's been a while since we last saw Ranjit, hasn't it? One wonders if he's now running a water taxi or if he remains steadfastly behind the wheel of a car.

Okay, here's the deal, we don't want to ruin anything for you, we don't want to give any 'spoilers' for an episode that aired last week, but that last episode ended with... let's call it a surprise. Tonight's episode is going to pick up in the aftermath of that moment. Boy, we so want to tell you what that moment was so that we could then have a long and deep conversation with you about it right here, but we feel as though doing that might ruin it for those who haven't watched it off their DVR. So, to recap, last week there were big doings, this week they will follow-up on the big doings. Don't miss the big doings. They're big.

There was a brief moment in time after "Ugly Betty" was cancelled when it appeared as though Becki Newton would quickly jump to a brand-new series that might have been a great success. Sadly for her, that series ended up as a summer burn-off. Tonight though, we'll get to see Newton once more, she'll be playing 'Quinn' tonight on "How I Met Your Mother." We don't think she's going to be the Harley variety of Quinn, but she is going to be Barney's blind date and if they made her into a Harley Quinn-type, that would be awesome.

So, at the end of 2011, the gang on "How I Met Your Mother" was facing any number of issues, but most of them revolve around pregnancy. People on the series are pregnant, but we don't want to spoil who (just in case you've been silly enough not to watch). We will give you a hint -- Ted is not pregnant. In fact, it feels to us like Ted has taken something of a backseat for the past few episodes. We will leave it up to you to decide whether or not that's a good thing -- the show doesn't always deal that well with Ted stories, so it may be better for him to take a backseat, but on the other hand the story may eventually have to get to the actual meeting of the mom. And now you're all caught up and ready to watch tonight.

Okay, so we highlighted "HIMYM" last week suggesting you ought to watch because Kal Penn and Ray Wise were both back. Well, Ray Wise isn't back this week, but Kal Penn is, and he's bringing Wayne Brady, Chris Elliott, and France Conroy with him. Now, if you've watched the show in the past that guest cast list ought to give you a pretty good idea that we're getting a Barney-centered episode. Fun, right? We love Barney-centered episodes, we just hope that there's a duck tie joke.

Okay, the above one sentence bit where we can quickly catch your eye and tell you why to watch says that Kal Penn and Ray Wise are on again tonight. See, that's perfectly true and great reasons to watch, but there's another reason as well -- on tonight's episode Ted contemplates going out with a girl before he bothers to look into her history. That's right, he's willing to date someone he hasn't googled. Watch tonight as his friends try to talk him out of such insanity. It is insanity we tell you, insanity!

Kal Penn was a movie star, then he was a TV and movie star, then he went to work for President Obama, and now (with some films in the works), he's heading back to TV to do a little guest-starring. He'll be playing Robin's therapist tonight which kind of forces us to wonder if Scherbatsky has finally lost her mind. What would cause that, you ask? Well, her being fictional and therefore unable to interact with us in the real world despite our unabashed love for her and, we assume, her love for us. This issue does drive us crazy on a regular basis, and we've contemplated help in the past, so why wouldn't she do so now?

As the 'official' premiere week begins in earnest, we're getting the seventh season premiere of "How I Met Your Mother" tonight. Some may say (not necessarily incorrectly) that the show's sixth season wasn't as funny as it truly should have been. We are not going to take either side of that argument, but rather state that whatever the last season may have been we certainly hope that this season is funnier. We think the show still has life left in it, we think that the series still is, most definitely, pulling it off.

Season six of "How I Met Your Mother" began with Ted playing best man at a wedding. You will be pleased to know that wherever seasons seven and eight (both already ordered) may take us, season six will in fact, in its final episode, take us back to that wedding. We have been promised big things about this wedding and how it relates to Ted's life, and we're hoping that it manages to deliver. It probably will, not in ways that we expect, but it will unquestionably deliver... something.
Read Alan Sepinwall's review of last week's episode here.
More on the show can be found here.

In his first appearance on "How I Met Your Mother," John Lithgow revealed himself to be Barney's father. Well, not John Lithgow as himself, John Lithgow as a driver instructor who lives in White Plains, NY (nice place). Lithgow is back again tonight, reprising that role. Barney will, we're told, be trying to bond with dear old dad, with hilarity, quite naturally, ensuing. We're not sure what form the hilarity will take yet, but we are quite convinced that Lithgow will be for there it and that the episode is a can't miss (or must watch if you prefer).

That's right, on tonight's episode of "How I Met Your Mother," Barney finally meets his father who, amazingly, isn't Bob Barker. He's actually John Lithgow. Or, more accurately, he's being played by John Lithgow (hopefully not in the same manner in which Lithgow appeared on "Dexter," great though that turn was). Nancy Travis will also be appearing as Barney's father's wife (which probably makes her Barney's stepmother). It's a big night for Barney and we have to imagine that you're going to want to see it (it will be 'Legendaddy,' which also happens to be the name of the episode).

"How I Met Your Mother" does a lot of things very well. For instance, they're able to go backwards and forwards in time with ease and great effect. They're also able to give some great catchphrases to Barney without them feeling like catchphrases. And, if you're looking for a third (all good things come in threes), they get excellent guest stars. Tonight, Katy Perry is going to be on which is another in a great line of guest stars. After seeing her with Elmo, we're convinced Perry will fit right in with the "HIMYM" crew.

The last time we remember seeing Alek Trebek on a sitcom was when Cliff Clavin made Trebek question the validity of his game show on "Cheers." Mind you, we're not saying that said appearance was Trebek's last on a sitcom, it is simply the last one we can instantly recall. Perhaps that is because of how important to us "Cheers" has always been. Perhaps it is simply that we don't watch enough TV. Whatever the case may be, rest assured that Trebek will be on tonight and will be playing Trebek. Ben Vereen on the other hand will be playing Sam, just as he did previously.

If our understanding of the "Lost" series finale is in any way accurate, it makes perfect sense for Hurley to appear in New York City in the year 2010. If, of course, "HIMYM" isn't doing one of its crazy time-shifting stories. But then again, let's face it, with the ever changing time period that "Lost" put out, it could perfectly fit with "HIMYM" jumping backwards or forewards or sideways too, couldn't it? Man, until this second, we never realized just how much "HIMYM" was like "Lost." Maybe Barney is really Jacob. Hey, you didn't understand that last season any better than we did, it could be true.

There are just some things that New Yorkers do quite well. Arguing is somewhere near the top of that list. Of course, there's an arguing sub-specialty that New Yorkers do even better than just regular arguing and that is arguing about directions. Well, the gang is going to try to prove that they know a thing or two about the NYC subway system this week as they race to a restaurant via different train lines. Their goal is to see Woody Allen, but he's not listed in the credits so I can't guarantee that they will. Someone however will meet Maury Povich because his name is listed (as is Geoff Stults from "October Road").

Not only are Wayne Brady and Frances Conroy reprising their roles as Barney's brother and mother, respectively, tonight, but Ben Vereen will also be on the episode. What does that mean for us? Well, maybe, just maybe, we'll discover if Barney's father actually is Bob Barker. We kind of have our doubts about that (wouldn't it be awesome if it was Ben Vereen?), but perhaps we'll get the truth. Is there some storyline with Ted going on a blind date as well? Of course there is, the show is about how he met the mother, but we're focusing on Barney tonight and you should as well.

To say that "How I Met Your Mother" has charted a linear course from its series premiere to this, its fifth season finale, may be stretching the truth (kind of like Ted himself has done from time to time). If you're looking for truth though, while we won't suggest that Dr. Tyree's philosophy class is just down the hall, we will state that the truth of the matter is that the show has been, more often than not, truly funny for five seasons. Do we want Ted to eventually find the mother and marry? Yes, we do, but we don't want to lose the funny either.

This week the "HIMYM" gang attends a 'highfalutin' party. We know that for a fact. We also know that Peter Bogdanovich, Will Shortz, and Arianna Huffington are all on the episode and that they all play themselves. Does that mean that the three are at the party? That does seem highly likely, doesn't it? The producers are tricky and could throw in one of the guests elsewhere, but we don't think that will happen. We don't just say that because we've seen stills from the episode, we think it because we're just that clever.

Christine Rose returns tonight as Ted's mom. You would kind of expect she would be in the episode as Ted is attending his mom's wedding this week. As someone who has attended no fewer than three of their parents' various weddings, we definitely feel for the guy. As we understand it, Ted finds himself horrifically disturbed at the PDAs between his mother and her fiance. We shudder at the thought. We more than shudder at the thought, we're sickened by it. If you consider the situation, you probably are too, aren't you? Still, as it's not our mother, we're kind of looking forward to Ted being disgusted.

There exists a contingent of people who believe that Ted should eventually meet and being dating his children's mother on "How I Met Your Mother." Apparently those people feel as though the title of the show kind of promotes the notion that Ted will eventually be doing just that. That group of people may be disappointed with tonight's episode as Carrie Underwood appears and her character dates Ted. Carrie Underwood, as you may have guessed, will not be playing the mother. While it might be cool if she did, she kind of has a massive singing career that she probably doesn't want to give up at this point.

Is there anything the Yankees can't do? They can open a brand new over-the-top ballpark. They can spend more money on a team than anyone thought imaginable. They can win another World Championship. And now, one of them is even going to be on "How I Met Your Mother." Nick Swisher will put in an appearance as himself tonight (Jim Nantz will be there too). As for the actual plot of the episode, it has something to do with Barney trying to land seven different women on seven straight days. That's almost as good as getting another chance to see a member of the World Champion Yankees.

Suit up, break out the scotch, turn on that '90s classic "Let's go to the Mall," and get ready to slap someone because tonight is going to be legen... wait for it... wait for it... dary! Have you met Ted? Well, you ought to have exactly 100 episodes ago. It is going to be a big night on the show, there's going to be a musical number, Ted will (we're told) get one step closer to meeting the oft-discussed mother, and Barney is going to contemplate giving up the suit. In short, it's going to be better than a game of baskiceball.

We can't say that we'd noticed them smoking on a regular basis, but tonight's episode description talks about our "How I Met Your Mother" friends are going to try to stop smoking, so we gather that's exactly what's going to happen. As to whether or not they all currently smoke, we can only really attest to Lily's smoking. How do we know that? Well, Harvey Fierstein, or at the very least, Harvey Fierstein's voice will be on the show tonight and said voice will be portraying Lily's smoking voice. Consequently, if for no other reason (like it being depicted on the show before), we can confidently say that Lily currently smokes.

Once upon a time there was a man named Marshall who made a slap bet with a man named Barney. Barney lost, and Marshall now has some free slaps coming to him. Last year, in a triumphant Thanksgiving episode, Marshall slapped Barney but good. This year, in an episode entitle 'Slapsgiving 2: Range of the Slap' Marshall gives one of his precious slaps to Ted and Robin. You might think we're all little slap happy about all this, but we're not, it's going to be legendary. Plus, Chris Elliott guest stars.

In last season's finale, Ted took a job as a professor and Robin beat Barney to the punch in admitting their feelings for each other. In addition, Marshall was contemplating jumping from their building to a neighbor's roof. The 5th season premiere should tell us whether he took the leap or not.

Note that this Monday's "How I Met Your Mother" is airing at a special time, 8:00 p.m. rather than 8:30, though at 8:30, you can still watch "HIMYM," but it will just be a repeat of last season's NCAA Tournament-themed episode.

In "Old King Clancy," Goliath Bank cancels plans to build their headquarters, meaning that Ted is suddenly out of a job. But don't expect Marshall and Barney to come right out and tell him!